My assignment this month was a food pairing with the Atwater
Estate Vineyards 2007 Syrah, an absolutely beautiful wine with tones
of ripe dark cherries and plum.

Often times when I pair food with wine I will concentrate
a particular flavor that I find both in the food and in the wine I am
pairing. But other times, I think about flavors that I may not find in
the wine, but that I think will make a flattering complement.

In the
2007 Atwater Syrah, characters of vanilla and smoke showed delicately
in the background while the wine was supported by forward fruit and
great structure. The synergy of these two flavors with the wine is the
inspiration for my pairing - Bacon wrapped beef tenderloin stuffed with
a vanilla bean chevre spread, topped with a red wine and vanilla
sauce.

Method:Using the paddle attachment of electric mixer, blend the chevre and the
"scrapings" of half of a vanilla bean until smooth. Sprinkle in salt
and pepper and blend well (you should see vanilla specks throughout the
chevre).

Method: Combine all ingredients in sauce pan. Bring to a boil then
reduce temperature to medium and allow to simmer until reduced by
half. Taste and adjust salt and pepper, if necessary. Strain and
reheat before using.

Method:
Leaving ½ inch at both ends, cut a 2 inch deep slit lengthwise on the
tenderloin. Spread the vanilla bean chevre evenly down the "pocket".
Layer the chiffonade chard on the chevre, press together pocket and
wrap entire tenderloin with sliced bacon, tucking in bacon ends to
secure. Grill or pan sear the beef tenderloin until bacon is beginning
to crisp. Continue cooking in 375 degree oven until medium rare or
desired doneness. Remove from oven and let rest for about 10 to 15
minutes. Slice into 6 - 8 servings and serve with warm sauce on top.

Hint: You can also prepare individual 8 oz cuts of beef tenderloin. Use
about 1 Tbsp spread for each piece.

February 16, 2010

My wife Barbara and I first met Richard Olsen-Harbich, currently the winemaker at Raphael, in the early 1990s when we were visiting Jamesport Vineyards to taste his wines for inclusion on our former restaurant Home’s wine list.

Not everyone knows that Rich spent several years at Jamesport Vineyards working as the winemaker before moving over to Raphael where he has been ever since. His career in winemaking began a decade before we met him and he was really hitting his stride at Jamesport, so we were happy to see him take the great opportunity at Raphael.

Rich was the first winemaker on Long Island to invite us into his cellar to taste wines from barrel with him. In 1993 he encouraged us to make our first private label red wine for our restaurant, and better yet, offered us the chance to create our own custom blend.

We have Rich to thank for some of the inspiration that resulted in us taking the plunge and starting our own vineyard and winery over 10 years ago. We have held onto a few of those early bottles, and store them in our wine library as a way to remember those good old days.

When Lenn asked me to create a recipe that would be paired with Raphael’s 2002 First Label Merlot I jumped at the thought of getting down on paper a duck and red wine recipe I have been thinking about for a long time.

Ducq au Vin is my tongue-in-cheek variation of the classic French Coq au Vin. I hope you find this recipe as delicious as I find the name amusing. Serve it alongside a puree of potatoes and fennel and a quick saute of arugula and have some good old days of your own.

Remove the duck legs from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Reserve the marinade. Score the skin as a way to help render the fat. Season with salt and pepper. Place the duck legs skin side down in a preheated skillet with the vegetable oil. Slowly render the fat and crisp the skin. About 10 minutes. Spoon off the fat as it renders and reserve for another purpose. When duck is well browned on both sides add the marinade to the skillet, bring to a simmer, cover, and place in the preheated oven for 2 hours until the duck is tender.

Remove the duck legs to a platter. Strain the marinade, discard the vegetables and return liquid to the stove. Add one cup of dark poultry stock and one tablespoon of tomato paste and whisk together. Reduce by one half or until the sauce begins to thicken. Add the onions and mushrooms and simmer until vegetables are tender. Whisk in the butter off the heat. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Reheat the duck legs under a preheated broiler until the skin is crackling crisp. Serve with the finished sauce and garnished with the rosemary.

November 11, 2009

I first tasted Peconic Bay Scallops in the early 1990s on a weekend getaway to the North Fork. In late autumn, Barbara and I would leave our restaurant after dinner service and head east with great anticipation of visiting Charlie Manwaring at Southold Fish Market.

After getting a good night's sleep we would head over to see Charlie in the early morning and would often find him still shucking the succulent meat from the scallop shells. We have since had the chance to harvest scallops in Hallock's Bay and then eat them raw right on the dock with just a squeeze of lime juice.

Peconic Bay Scallops are a seasonal treasure of North Fork cuisine that should not be missed when visiting the area.

Charles and Barbara Smithen of Sherwood House Vineyards have created a delightful stainless steel-fermented chardonnay from fruit grown right here on Oregon Road that pairs beautifully with this chowder recipe. The razor crisp acidity and bright fruit balance the sweetness of the scallops and fresh cream, leaving your palate refreshed and ready for a second helping.

Ingredients:

Makes 8 servings

3/4 pound white potatoes, peeled and diced

3 tablespoons butter

2 cups thinly sliced leeks (white and pale green portions)

1/2 cup white wine

1 bottle (8 ounces) clam broth

2 pints heavy cream or 3 cups cream and 1 cup milk

2 pounds bay scallops

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon paprika

8 sprigs dill

In a medium saucepan, cover potatoes with salted water and bring to a boil. Boil 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Add potatoes and simmer 7 minutes. Add scallops and simmer 3 minutes just until opaque (do not boil). Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Garnish with parsley, paprika and a sprig of dill.

November 04, 2009

My assignment this month from Lenn was to create a dish to pair with the Heart & Hands Wine Company 2007 Barrel
Reserve Pinot Noir.

This is a beautiful Finger Lakes pinot with
overtones of currant and cranberry and by the way is my favorite pinot noir in the Finger Lakes! So, I decided to pair it with one of my
favorite dishes.....duck breast.

This is a simple but elegant relish
that works well with pan seared duck breast (also be great on that
Thanksgiving turkey too) with undertones of clove and orange.

In
fact, if you're in the area I have put this duck dish paired with the
wine on my November Chef's table -- so come on in and enjoy them both!

October 08, 2009

Local With Local has been an increasingly popular feature here on the site over the last several months, mostly thanks to the contributions of Deb Whiting, chef and co-owner of Red Newt Bistro. She's brought new dedication to the project and has been pushing me to do it more often -- to the point that we'll now be doing it monthly.

Today I'm happy to announce that David Page, co-owner of Shinn Estate Vineyards and Shinn Farmhouse, has agreed to take over the Long Island edition of Local With Local on a similar monthly basis.

Before moving to Mattituck to grow grapes and run the winery, David spent his entire career in professional kitchens, spending over a decade cooking in the San Francisco Bay area cooking at places like Wolfgang Puck's Postrio, Masa's under Julian Serrano and Foto 759.

He moved to New York City with his wife Barbara Shinn in 1990 to open Home Restaurant, the very first NYC restaurant to exclusively pour local wines alongside his farm-to-table cuisine. That same year Page and Shinn visited the North Fork of Long Island for the first time and became enamored with the culinary potential of the region.

David and Barbara wrote their first cookbook entitled Recipes from Home in 2001 which won the Julia Child Cookbook award as well as being nominated for a James Beard Foundation Best American Cookbook award. They are currently working on a second book.

Just like Deb won't be pairing any foods with Red Newt wines, David won't be pairing with any Shinn Estate wines.

September 22, 2009

My assignment this time around for "Local with Local" was a pairing with Lamoreaux Landing 2008 Red Oak Riesling.

This is a beautiful Finger Lakes dry riesling that has overtones of pear and lemon pith. Nice structure, mineral and lean, but Lenn will tell you more about that in an upcoming review. On with the food pairing.

As I was tasting this I thought it would be lovely with an appetizer utilizing local pears -- a great way to start off a great meal! So how about a flatbread with roasted fennel, sauteed pears, arugula and shaved Manchego cheese?

I make my own flatbread, but you certainly can purchase a flatbread and build this appetizer.

Pear-Fennel Flatbread with Arugula and Manchego
Makes three 4x6" flatbreads

Place chopped fennel on pan for roasting. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil. Roast until soft and begins to color, about 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

While roasting the fennel, in a saute pan add about two tablespoons of olive oil and begin sauteeing shallots on high heat. Reduce to medium heat and as shallots begin to soften, add pears with minced garlic and salt and pepper.

Continue saute until pears are soft, but not mushy. Cool both fennel and pear mixture.

On the flatbread, layer fresh arugula to cover, add pear and shallot mixture, then layer on roasted fennel (divide evenly between the three flatbreads.

Shave Manchego on top and bake in oven (375) for about 10 minutes.

Cut each flatbread into quarters and serve immediately with a glass of the Lamoreaux Landing Red Oak Riesling. Serves 3 to 6 people.

June 11, 2009

For this month's Long Island "Local with Local" I asked Chef Doug Gulija of The Plaza Cafe in Southampton, NY to create a dish he'd serve with Channing Daughters Winery's 2007 Tocai Friulano, which actually was on his wine list until he ran out a few weeks ago.

Chef Doug, ever the seafood guru, has put together this recipe for local monkfish that he stuffs with lobster and wraps with prosciutto.

June 08, 2009

For this, the first installment of Local with Local (Finger Lakes Edition), I've asked Chef Deb Whiting of Red Newt Bistro on Seneca Lake to create a dish specifically for enjoying with Damiani Wine Cellars 2007 Cabernet Franc (my review), a fine example of Finger Lakes cabernet franc from a producer that is only now starting to get some attention.

She came up with Grilled, Coffee-Rubbed, Bacon-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin with Cherry-Cabernet Franc Sauce. Here's here thinking behind it and the recipe:I recently tasted a bottle of Damiani Wine Cellars 2007 Cabernet Franc and of course immediately started thinking of what kind of food I would pair with this wonderful wine. Aromas and flavors of smoke, dark cherry and cranberry danced through my mind as I continued to drink the wine and think about food. I kept coming back to dark cherry and realized that cherry season is just around the corner so I decided to share a recipe idea utilizing them. I decided that a grilled bacon wrapped beef tenderloin with a coffee rub topped with a cherry cabernet wine sauce would be perfect. This recipe is easy and is worth waiting for cherries to be in season.

In a saucepan, gently saute garlic in olive oil until it starts to appear translucent. Add the remaining ingredients except the herbs into the pan. Bring the sauce to a boil and continue to cook until the sauce is reduced to about one cup. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Add in the herbs and allow to cool to refrigerate. You can leave the sauce chunky or puree the sauce with an immersion blender. Use immediately or re-heat sauce before serving on the tenderloin.

Mix all ingredients in bowl. Store in airtight container. (Makes enough rub for about 16# of meat.)

Using your hands, coat the tenderloin with the coffee rub completely. Now wrap one piece of bacon completely around the beef. Start the next strip of bacon by overlapping on the end of the first piece and continuing until the tenderloin is completely covered.

Gently tuck the loose end of the bacon into the wrapped area. Now you are ready to grill! Turn the meat as you grill so that the bacon gets thoroughly cooked and cook to desired temp. Remove the tenderloin and let “rest” for five minutes.

Slice the tenderloin and place onto a platter bedded with fresh arugula or spinach. Ladel the warm sauce over the slices and enjoy along with a glass of Damiani 2007 Cabernet Franc.

June 01, 2009

Today, I'm happy to announce that Chef Deb Whiting, chef at Red Newt Bistro on Seneca Lake in New York's Finger Lakes region will be joining LwL vet Chef Doug Gulija of The Plaza Cafe in Southampton, NY. (Read more about Chef Doug)

Deb also happens to be co-owner of Red Newt Wine Cellars with her husband Dave Whiting, who is the winemaker. A winemaker and chef owning a winery and restaurant. Sounds like a power couple to me.

To side-step any potential conflicts or perceived conflicts, I will likely never ask Deb to create a dish to pair with one of Dave's wines. There are plenty of other great wines in the Finger Lakes to focus on, anyway.

My current plan, if the chefs can keep up with it, is to pick one one for each of them to create a dish for per month. We'll start this Wednesday with pairings for Channing Daughters Winery's 2007 Tocai Friulano and Damiani Wine Cellars 2007 Cabernet Franc.

What I do hate is seeing people so stressed out over wine pairing — Thanksgiving or not — that they rely on the words of a stranger just because they are printed on paper. It's not worth worrying about, people.

Wine "experts" and sommeliers don't want you to think so, but wine pairing is often much more about avoiding bad pairings than it is finding the singular "perfect" one.

Are there classic pairings that are delicious? Absolutely, but they aren't hard and fast rules. Take the "perfect" match of foie gras and Sauternes. It's good and it's absolutely a classic, but if foie gras is being served in the middle of a meal, I know that I don’t want to drink a sweet wine with it. I prefer sparkling wine that can cut through the richness of the fattened duck's liver and whet my appetite for the rest of the meal.

I have a wine-loving friend who swears that pinot noir is the "perfect" wine to complement duck. I prefer local merlot or even cabernet franc. He's not wrong and neither am I. Why do people think that there are so many rules with this stuff?

Where am I going with all of this? It's simple: drink what you like… even if wine writers don't suggest it. Then again, if you read enough Thanksgiving wine columns, you're sure to find someone willing to say that most any wine from any region is "great with Turkey."

Remember, turkey is one of the most neutral foods in the world. Other than a big, hulking red with high tannins, I think most anything will work.

The myth of the "perfect Thanksgiving wine" is just that, a myth. Look at what you're eating on Thanksgiving day. In addition to that near-bland turkey, you have highly spiced stuffing (that can include oysters, chestnuts or sausage), rich gravy, green bean and/or sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes… I could go on, but you get the point. With all that variety of flavors and textures, there isn't any single wine that is going to make all of these taste better. No, not riesling. No, not pinot noir. No, not merlot.

So why not open a few bottles that you know you enjoy and try them all?

That's what I'm going to do this year. I'm going to open wines made with some of my favorite grapes — riesling, cabernet franc and merlot. And I'm probably going to open some rose as well, just because it's can be so darn versatile (and is always a hit with my family).

Do you know what you should drink this year on Thanksgiving? Local wines. The holiday is about giving thanks and I'm thankful to have such a dynamic region right in my own backyard. If you are too, support them.

In coming days, as I start pulling wines from my cellar, I'll let you know exactly what I'm going to open... not because I think you should drink what I'm drinking. Nah, I just want you to see the variety of wines I'm going to open. You should do the same. Really.

I'll also be posting some Thanksgiving recipes from some of Long Island's most accomplished chefs... with the wines that they recommend. I'll, of course, be offering alternative pairings too... because there just isn't a "perfect" pairing for anything.

July 14, 2008

This edition of "Local With Local" features two (actually three) ingredients that I'm passionate about: local beets, Catapano Dairy goat cheese, and local sauvignon blanc.

When I asked my partner in this project, chef Doug Gulija from The Plaza Cafe in Southampton, to create a dish to serve with Macari Vineyards' 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, he first thought about seafood, a natural companion and the protein with which he does his wizardry at the restaurant. But, after tasting the wine in the dining room, with Joe and Alexandra Macari who were eating there, chef was blown away, telling me afterwards that he "really believes that it is one of the best sauvignon blancs the Island has produced."

But instead of pairing it with seafood, he went a different direction, coming up with Local Beet Carpaccio With Catapano Farms Goat Cheese Ravioli, to "accentuate the freshness, liveliness and touch of herbaceousness" in the wine."

February 27, 2008

To start, we can’t even agree on what being a New Yorker means. A former NYC resident myself, I always found it beyond comical that NY1 would devote an entire 60 seconds to the “World Beyond New York” – be it Long Island, Louisiana or Lithuania, it was all the same upon exit from the five boroughs. Is that, then, the true New York?

Not likely. Despite the heavy tax-base and votership in that small speck of real estate, the rest of the state ends up feeling neglected and overlooked. For example, when I first moved to New YorkCity, I was astounded to see how few wine shops and restaurants carried Long Island wines.

Not much had changed when I found myself working in such a shop five years later; the owners swore the wines would never sell because no one knew them or trusted them. Sadly, such proclamations were more often true than not and it was only the daring customer who would take my Long Island recommendations. I found it surreal that consumers would trust wines hailing from entirely different hemispheres over those from their geographical backyard.

This question of New York viniferal loyalty was further compounded by my move to Buffalo.

Sure, I’m from Long Island, but I’ve lived in both NYC and the Hudson Valley (I skipped the Finger Lakes, but give me time...). I almost innately found myself turning my nose up at local wines without ever having tried them. “They’re from Lockport..." I'd sigh. "How good can they be?"

While I’m certainly not writing this to boast one area over another, I’ve come to find it quite curious that we don’t band together more as an entire state. We’ve got an uphill battle here, folks. California is out-fruit-bombing us, France is out-prestiging us, South American is under-pricing us, and Italy is out-experimenting us.

New York, my fellow/femellow (which, by the way, is the new moniker attached to cool chicks like myself) bloggers can testify, produces fantastic wines when the winemakers do not attempt to coerce them into being something they’re not. It damn near breaks my heart every time I taste an overly oaked NY Chardonnay. Why is this happening?!

January 01, 2008

Our little Local With Local project kicks off 2008 with another recipe from chef Doug Gulija from The Plaza Cafe in Southampton. This time around, we've paired a popular East End delicacy, Peconic Bay scallops, with a deliciously balanced barrel fermented 2003 Estate Selection Chardonnay from Wolffer Estate. As always, a big thanks goes out to by chef Doug and Ellen Watson, the photographic talent behind the above picture.

This is a terrific combo and I'm proud to say that this menu item is currently on the menu at the restaurant. Recipe behind the jump.

August 16, 2007

This edition of the "Local With Local" project I've started has me working again with chef Doug Gulija from The Plaza Cafe in Southampton. This time, I'm even more excited because the dish truly was a collaborative effort.

I wanted to highlight Corey Creek Vineyards's 2006 Rose, which has been Nena's favorite rose this summer. I was served a strawberry goat cheese mousse at a rose launch party earlier in the summer, so I suggested that to chef as a starting point. He wanted to do something grilled, because he likes rose with grilled fare and the next thing you know, we had come up with this pizza.

May 15, 2007

The goal of my new "Local with Local" series is to not only show how well Long Island food goes with Long Island wine, but also to make it easier for people to try putting the two together at home.

For our inaugural pairing, I've worked with Doug Gulija of Plaza Cafe to put together a delectable spring offering. I told him that I wanted to focus on sauvignon blanc--specifically the latest vintage from Channing Daughters Winery and this is what he came up with. He's known for his masterful work with seafood, and this looks delicious (even to someone who doesn't eat much seafood).

The dish is Sauteed Local Monkfish Medallions with Baby Grilled Asparagus and Sorrel Hollandaise and it was inspired by the local sorrel Doug found at a local farm stand. And, Doug tells me that he's planning to put this on the menu, and while he doesn't have the 2006 CDW Sauvignon Blanc on his list, he does have the 2005 right now.

The recipe is available by clicking on the "Continue reading..." link below. The picture of this month's dish was taken by Ellen Watson.

May 01, 2007

I first met Doug Gulija at a chardonnay vertical tasting at Wolffer Estate a couple years ago. He came right up and introduced himself to me and throughout the tasting, I was impressed by his palate as well as his dedication to Long Island wines--both in his personal life and and at his restaurant.

You may remember that when LENNDEVOURS was celebrating it's 3rd birthday a little over a month ago I mentioned that I wanted to work with some local chefs on some special food and wine pairings that bring together the best of Long Island's seasonal ingredients with local wines. We'll call it our "Local With Local" project.

Well, I'm happy to say that Chef Gulija has agreed to sign on as my chef of the month for May. He is chef and proprietor of the award-winning restaurant The Plaza Café, located in Southampton, New York. The Plaza Cafe is known as a premier destination for seafood lovers and has been awarded three stars (Excellent) by the New York Times. The Plaza Café has also been awarded an Award of Excellence by the Wine Spectator in 2001.

Chef Gulija has been selected by the James Beard House to cook at the annual Chefs and Champagne in 1999, 2002 and 2006 where the Guests of Honor have been Julia Child, Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller. This has lead to an invitation to cook at the James Beard House in Manhattan.

Over the course of his career, Chef Gulija has cooked over seas at The Grand Vefour in Paris, the InterContintental Hotel in his homeland of Croatia as well as studying abroad in Spain and Japan.

Later this month, chef and I will announce our wine pairing of the month.